


Making Things Worse to Get Better

by Yrindor



Series: To Feel the Way We Do [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Medical Procedures, Needles, Pediatrician Sugawara Koushi, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-09-15 11:39:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9233534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yrindor/pseuds/Yrindor
Summary: Suga is used to seeing sick kids; after all, it's part of his job.  It's a lot harder when his boyfriend is the one who's sick.





	

**Author's Note:**

> CW: This fic contains a brief allusion to vomiting near the beginning as well as a detailed description of a medical procedure (starting an IV).

After a morning full of kids sick with the stomach virus that had been going around, Suga was more than happy to retreat to the relative quiet of his office the moment he managed to break free for lunch. Normally he would have lingered over his food, but today he barely tasted it, rushing to finish and calling Kuroo the minute he was done. Kenma had come down with a stomach bug the night before, likely the same one as everyone else, and it had taken significant effort for Suga to talk himself into leaving the apartment that morning. He knew Kuroo would have called if Kenma had taken a turn for the worse, but it was in his nature to worry. 

"How are things?" he asked as soon as Kuroo picked up.

"About the same as when you left. Kenma's napping now, but he's still miserable. And he's still not keeping anything down."

"Nothing?"

"Not really, and he feels awful enough he doesn't want to keep trying either."

Suga sighed. "That's what I was afraid of. He's not alone; I admitted three kids this morning for dehydration, and it sounds like we're heading in that direction too. If it doesn't break soon, we may be making a trip to the clinic tonight."

"You know Kenma's not going to like that."

"Keep trying to push fluids, and we'll see if we can avoid it, but if that doesn't work, he's going to need an IV. It's either the clinic or we do it at home."

"You know he'll want to stay here."

There was a long pause before Suga replied. "I know," he said eventually. "I'll call his doctor and see if she'll put in the prescriptions. Barring any emergencies, I'll be home around 6; see if you can't convince Kenma to have at least a little something before then—broth, diluted juice, anything really at this point. He's never an easy stick, and the dehydration's only going to make it worse. I don't want this to be any harder on him than it already is."

He heard Kuroo sigh on the other end of the line. "Sorry, Koushi, I know this is hard on you."

"I don't mind," Suga said, trying to force some levity into his words.

Kuroo wasn't fooled for a second. "Yes you do," he said. "You care too damn much about everyone, especially Kenma. It's what make you you."

"It's easier than bringing him to the clinic would be. Is that better?"

"I'll give you that much at least," Kuroo conceded.

"If that's our plan, then I should sign off now so I can call Kitamura-sensei's office before I have to head back into the fray."

"Thanks, Koushi."

"Not a problem. Real thanks should go to you for staying home today."

"Like I said earlier, it's fine. I only had a couple of meetings, and I can do them all remotely. I'm really not missing much working from home."

"Thanks anyway. Call me if anything changes, but otherwise, I'll see you in a few hours."

"See ya'."

Suga gave himself thirty seconds after he hung up to press his hands into his eyes and try to ignore the growing knot in his gut. Kuroo was right; he did care too much. It was how he had ended up in pediatrics instead of oncology as he'd initially considered. That wasn't to say pediatrics didn't have its moments, but they were fewer and farther between. He'd learned to distance himself from the emotions too, but he still hated seeing people in pain and knowing he was going to add to it. And it was a lot harder to detach when it was someone he cared about as much as he cared about Kenma.

But what needed to be done needed to be done, and with only ten minutes left before his next appointment, he couldn't put it off any longer. He sent up a silent prayer to whomever might be listening that he wouldn't get stuck on hold and picked up the phone. Luck was with him when the receptionist answered on the second ring, and it held when she was able to transfer him directly to the doctor. It didn't take Suga long to explain the situation, and after a few more clarifications, Dr. Kitamura agreed to send the prescriptions Kenma would need down to the pharmacy.

"You know the drill," she said. "Call us or take Kenma to the urgent care clinic immediately if anything worsens or if he starts running a fever, but I agree he's probably just caught what's going around. And tell him I hope he feels better soon."

"I'll pass it along," Suga promised as he hung up. He was down to five minutes until his next appointment which gave him just enough time to put away his lunchbox, wash his hands, and hurry to the front desk to pick up his next stack of charts.

His afternoon was crowded with all of his normal appointments, plus a few more sick children who were squeezed in somehow, but none of them were overly complicated, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't appreciate the distraction.

By some small miracle he managed to wrap everything up and leave at close to his scheduled time. He detoured past the pharmacy on his way out of the hospital, and ended up having to run to catch his train, but it was worth it, and he was unlocking the door to the apartment less than half an hour later.

"I'm home," he announced as he stepped inside.

"Hey, Suga," Kuroo called from the bedroom.

"Hey, Kuroo," Suga said as he joined them. "How are you feeling, Kenma?"

Kenma whimpered and curled into an even smaller ball in Kuroo's lap. "It hurts."

"What hurts?"

"Everything."

"I know. I'm sorry," Suga said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and brushing Kenma's hair out of his face. "Did Kuroo explain what needs to happen to make you feel better?"

Kenma shook his head. "Don't like needles," he said.

"I know, but I can tell just by looking that you're already badly dehydrated, and that's just making you more sick. Especially when you aren't feeling well, your body needs fluids; it's dangerous if you can't give it that. I can do this here if you want, or we can go to the clinic."

"Stay here," Kenma mumbled. "Can Kuroo stay too?"

"Of course he can," Suga replied.

"I'll be right here the whole time," Kuroo agreed, absently running his hands through Kenma's hair.

Suga lingered a moment longer, reassuring himself that Kenma didn't seem feverish or disoriented, but when Kuroo started recounting some absurd anecdote from a recent dinner with Bokuto, he took it as his cue to go wash his hands and prepare.

The bag he had picked up at the pharmacy contained everything he'd need to start an IV, plus several bags of normal saline and one smaller bag of medication to help with the nausea. He set up as much as he could in the kitchen, out of Kenma's sight. He knew waiting made Kenma nervous, but watching and waiting was worse.

When he was ready, he went back to the bedroom. He wondered briefly where he was going to hang the IV bag before he remembered the old picture mounting hook on the wall they had never bothered to remove, and for once he was glad they still hadn't found the time for the apartment overhaul they had been talking about since they moved in. He hung the bags and clipped the tubing securely out of the way before asking, "Kenma, can I see your arms for a minute?"

Kenma closed his eyes as he shifted. Unlike Kuroo, whose veins were visible from across the room sometimes, Kenma's weren't prominent even at the best of times and dehydration only made it worse; at first glance, Suga didn't see anything he thought he could use. He briefly wished they were at the clinic where they'd have access to an ultrasound to help, but it was only a fleeting thought. He was used to dealing with children and their tiny veins, so he'd manage somehow, and there was no point in putting things off any longer.

"This is going to be tight, okay?" he warned before he wrapped a tourniquet around Kenma's arm.

Kenma flinched anyway, and Kuroo immediately rubbed a calming hand over his shoulders.

"Squeeze my hand for me," Suga instructed, and he tried not to worry at the weakness of Kenma's grip. He ran his fingers over Kenma's arm until he finally found a vein. It wasn't ideal, but he thought it looked viable, and it seemed to be his best option.

"I'm cleaning off your arm now, Kenma" he said as he tore open an alcohol swab. "It's going to be cold."

Kenma whined, and Kuroo took his other hand. "Hold on as hard as you want," Kuroo said, and Kenma squeezed until his knuckles were white.

"Don't forget to breathe," Suga added as he waited for the alcohol to dry. He knew Kenma's tendency when confronted with uncomfortable sensations was to hold his breath, but that only made things worse. Luckily Kuroo knew that too though, and he went back to rubbing Kenma's shoulders and murmuring quiet reminders.

Suga thought Kenma was relaxing slightly into Kuroo's touch, but the sound of the needle packaging opening had his eyes flying open as he flinched away. Suga moved the needle out of Kenma's line of sight and waited until Kuroo coaxed him into looking away again before he continued.

"Kenma, little pinch," he warned as he lined the needle up to the vein. "Keep breathing."

Kenma hummed as the needle slid through his skin, and Suga could feel him tensing under him. He waited to see the telltale flash of blood in the needle hub that would tell him it was in place, but to his frustration, he saw nothing.

He tried advancing a little farther.

Still nothing.

Kenma was whimpering now, squeezing Kuroo's hand with a white-knuckled grip and fidgeting at the covers with his feet as he tried not to move, and Suga found himself biting his own lip.

"You're doing great, Kenma. Keep breathing," Kuroo said as Suga withdrew the needle partway, and Suga took the reminder for himself as well.

He adjusted his angle and tried again, and to his relief, he finally saw the flash he had been waiting for. He quickly advanced the catheter a bit more, withdrew the needle, and put pressure over the vein with his thumb before it could bleed everywhere.

"The worst part's over," he told Kenma as he untied the tourniquet. Then he attached the tubing, checked the line, and taped everything in place. Kenma squirmed as he pressed a dressing over the top.

"I know it feels weird," Suga said, "but this will keep it clean and stop anything from getting knocked loose by mistake. There, all done."

Kenma looked down at his forearm, gingerly running his fingers over the plastic.

"The medicine will help you feel less sick," Suga explained, "and the fluids will help too. You're dehydrated enough it needs to stay overnight, but depending on how you're feeling tomorrow, we may be able to remove it in the morning."

He gathered up all of his trash, but Kenma tugged on his wrist when he tried to leave.

"I'll be right back," he promised, squeezing Kenma's hand before placing it back on the bed. He changed as quickly as he could and set an alarm to wake him up to replace the fluid in Kenma's IV before climbing back into the bed. It took a bit of rearranging to make sure no one would hit Kenma's arm or pull on the line, but eventually they were all comfortably settled with Kenma in his favorite spot in the middle.

"Try to get some sleep, kitten," Suga said as he ruffled Kenma's hair. "You barely slept at all last night."

"Sorry," Kenma mumbled as he snuggled closer. "'Night, Suga."

"It's okay. Sleep well, Kenma."

**Author's Note:**

> As always, comments and feedback are welcome and appreciated.


End file.
